Snowden has political asylum, can stay in Russia for a year, lawyer says

Share

Ben Brumfield CNN — National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden's application for political asylum has been approved, and he has left a Moscow airport, Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told CNN on Thursday.

Snowden has legal status in Russia for one year, Kucherena said, but the attorney would not disclose his location, citing security reasons.

"We would like to thank the Russian people and all those others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the battle -- now the war," WikiLeaks tweeted when the news hit.

In another tweet, the group said, "Edward Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia for a year and has now left Moscow airport under the care of WikiLeaks' Sarah Harrison."

And another tweet: "FLASH: We can now confirm that Edward Snowden's welfare has been continuously monitored by WikiLeaks staff since his presence in Hong Kong."

On Wednesday night, a lawyer representing Lon Snowden, Edward Snowden's father, appeared on "Anderson Cooper 360" and said that Snowden was in good health in Russia and that his lawyer was open to hammering out an ending that would satisfy all.

Attorney Bruce Fein relayed the conversation he had with Kucherena.

"There may be a time where it would be constructive to try and meet and see whether there can't be common ground that everyone agrees would advance the interest, the United States, Mr. Snowden, Lon, his father, and the interest of Russia in trying to resolve this in a way that honors due process and the highest principles of fairness and civilization," Fein said.

"I telephoned him (Edward Snowden) today. We agreed that I would prepare an invitation for his father to visit Russia. I hope that the visa formalities will not be long," Kucherena said Wednesday.

Snowden has said he is afraid he would not get a fair trial if he came back to the United States.

On Wednesday, Snowden once again made himself a thorn in the side of the NSA.

The British daily The Guardian, which broke news of the NSA programs on the surveillance of phone and Internet metadata after Snowden leaked the information, revealed yet another NSA data collecting scheme.

The report says that according to the leaked documents, XKeyscore allows intelligence agents to see anything you've ever done on the Internet.

With ease, they can observe your browsing history, searches, e-mails, chats and more, the report says, and it does not require a search warrant.

After the article was published, Snowden came forward as the source.

Snowden's father told Anderson Cooper that the FBI had wanted to fly him to Moscow to encourage the National Security Agency leaker to come home to the United States.

But Lon Snowden said he backed out because it was not clear he would be able to speak to his son.

When he asked FBI agents if they would be able to set up communications, they hesitated, he said.

It made him suspicious.

"I'm not going to get on a flight and go to Moscow and sit on a tarmac to be an emotional tool for you to use against him. I want to first be able to speak to my son," he told them.

Lon Snowden has said that he wants his son to stay in Russia until he is confident he can get a fair trial in the United States.

"I am not confident at all," he said.

The multiple guilty verdicts handed to leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning increased his unease, although he says his son's case is "completely different."

"I think my son has exercised discretion in the information that he has shared," he said.

Spaces are allowed; punctuation is not allowed except for periods, hyphens, and underscores.

E-mail address:

A valid e-mail address. All e-mails from the system will be sent to this address. The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail.